New sources of energy for producing power are needed. There is also a need for environmentally safe renewable energy source that can be used to supply the ever increasing need for potable water, electrical power, energy for replacing automotive gasoline and other sources of energy. One source of such energy that is a natural first choice is the ocean and its wave motion.
Systems have been proposed for using wave motion as an energy source but a very small percentage have been put to use. A number of these systems have been patented but have not been adopted for widespread use for a variety of reasons. Most of these systems used closed loop hydraulic systems, cable movements, rack and pinion gearing devices, air pumps, and bellows to enhance and convert wave energy. However most of these systems fail to utilize any specifically designed ballast mass as a driving force. They are generally dependent on the buoyancy of flotation elements as their prime mover. Gravity acting on those elements is a reciprocative force.
One such device is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,618 issued May 30, 1978. This patent describes a wave motion power generating system having floating buoys attached to a pump which pump water from a container submerged below water level. In a preferred embodiment the patent discloses buoys in the form of cylindrical links mounted on the leg of ocean platforms. The tank below the water level, provides a void to create a hydrostatic head. The pumping system comprised of the buoys mounted on the legs of an ocean platform remove water from the tank to create the void with the water being refilled to cause water movement as in a siphoning conduit. This patent involves no use of any mass displacement to create or convert the wave energy. This patent describes only the use of a buoyancy force of wave action on floats to create a hydrostatic head. The power generator is mounted on the ocean platform.
A device for deriving mechanical power from wave motion is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,163. This patent discloses a pump having a cylinder that is raised and lowered on a hollow piston or drive rod. As the water level rises a buoyant cylinder pressurizes water in a compartment below the piston so it can be used to operate a turbine. Fluid in the cylinder passes through either side of the fixed piston to drive the turbines. The buoyancy of the cylinder is the driving force of this patent and the downward stroke is dependent upon gravitational force. Also in this patent the turbines are not mounted within the drive assembly.
Another patent that utilizes the force of water to drive a piston up and down is disclosed in British Pat. No. 2,093,124A. In this patent the movement of the piston and cylinder causes a change in the length of the pivotally connected water driven shaft. In this patent the water driven member is a float that is driven up and down by a head of water. The force driving the float up and down can be the motion of the tide or ocean. The motion of the float compresses pistons on the up stroke and compresses a second set of pistons on a downward stroke. This device represents a water engine to create pressure which is stored in an accumulator. This device is complicated in construction with many pivotal points and pivoting links that discourages use. It also requires controlling of water level in a float.
Other patents that disclose or describe systems that utilize wave motion to produce energy are in U.S. Pat. No. 1,523,031 issued Jan. 13, 1925; U.S. Pat. No. 2,009,939 issued Mar. 18, 1935; U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,463 issued Feb. 28, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,878 issued Jun. 24, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,192 issued Aug. 19, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,375 issued Feb. 28, 1984; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,591 issued Jan. 7, 1986. Most of these devices are unacceptable because they are complicated and difficult to produce and maintain. Many use buoyancy factors of a float as a working force. None teach or describe the use of mass displacement for effectively producing or converting wave energy.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a mass displacement wave energy conversion system comprised of a series of pumping devices anchored in wave concentrations.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mass displacement wave energy conversion system that has a series of pumping devices that are anchored by footings submerged in the sea floor and are held in position by platforms above the high water mark.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mass displacement wave energy conversion system that utilizes wave oscillation to pressurize water to the desired working force. The cylinder and piston head diameters of the pumps control the required ballast weight to achieve desired water pressures.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a mass displacement wave energy conversion system having buoyancy vessels that are minimally submerged in the wave action to cause the pump elements to be extended to the cresting point of the waves. As waves oscillate through their cycles to a trough position the buoyancy vessel is pulled down to a neutral buoyancy state in the trough by the weight of the ballast compressing water through its pumping network to work stations.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mass displacement wave energy conversion system that permits the development of a wave energy conversion farm in the ocean environment that acts as a man-made reef giving protection to sea creatures. It also can provide an added benefit of protecting shore lines by diminishing wave energy to reduce destruction of action on beaches.